The Sony orchestra
While the advertising world has been busy debating whether the latest Sony Bravia spot, featuring those lovable Play-doh bunnies, is or isn’t a rip-off of Kozyndan’s art, Fallon in London has slipped out another spot for Sony online, this time for the brand’s new Walkman digital media player.
Icograda Congress Report: Cuba Gráfica Show
CR’s Mark Sinclair is blogging from the Icograda World Design Congress in Havana. In this post, he visits the Cuba Gráfica exhibition, a retrospective of Cuban graphic design from 1959-2007 and talks to Eladio Rivadullo, the designer of the very first poster created for the Cuban revolution of 1959 (shown above).
In addition its seven day conference, the Icograda Congress boasts a range of satellite events and exhibitions. With Cuba hosting the Congress this year, many of the country’s designers have taken the opportunity to show some of their best work in a host of different venues around Havana. The largest show, Cuba Gráfica, was a comprehensive retrospective of Cuban visual communication design, and included examples of editorial and identity design, posters, websites, motion graphics, packaging and stamps from 1959 to 2007. Curated by Pepe Menendez, Pedro Contreras and Hector Villaverde, the exhibition is currently on show in the stunning setting of publishing house/gallery, Casa de las Americas, in the Vedado district of Havana. The opening night was popular with Icograda delegates and Cuban designers alike and I also had the pleasure of meeting a special guest, too – Eladio Rivadulla, the man behind the first poster ever designed for the Cuban revolution of 1959.
The Birth Of YOD
The November issue of CR, out tomorrow, is all about Work In Progress. All our features will look at the rocky road that is the creative process, from initial idea to finished work. As a taster, here’s James Jarvis describing how his latest vinyl toy, YOD (shown above), came into the world
A Leopard That Can Change Its Spots?
Apple’s new Leopard desktop
As I write this, Apple’s Mac OSX Leopard is nine hours from launch. The new operating system bulges with new features, many of them superfluous, others that will, in the terminology of these things, no doubt be considered “neat”. But if you were hoping that it would LOOK any better, you will be sorely disappointed. Leopard is even shinier, even more bevelled, even more everything than its predecessor. Surely it’s time that Apple offered us some more tasteful alternatives?
Douglas Coupland goes viral
In an unusual promotion for Douglas Coupland’s new novel, The Gum Thief, publisher Random House Canada approached production company Crush Toronto to make a series of nine short film clips based on the book. The clips, all with narration by Coupland himself, are posted on YouTube (all nine shown above).
Icograda Congress Report: Design School, Cuban Style
All this week, CR’s Mark Sinclair will be blogging from the Icograda World Design Congress in Havana. In this first post, he attends an open day at the city’s Instituto Superior de Deseno Industrial, where (above) delegates were greeted by the students
El Instituto Superior de Deseno Industrial is Cuba’s one and only design school. Based in Havana, the ISDI is in the central part of the city, west of Habana Vieja, the old town, where most foreign visitors to the Cuban capital spend their time and tourist’s pesos.
Dead Children Playing
Stanley Donwood has been hard at work of late, firstly on the artwork for Radiohead’s eagerly awaited In Rainbows box set, and also on his new book Dead Children Playing, which is published this week.
A Long Way From Woodchip
Exhibiting a keen eye for design even then, I chose for my teenage bedroom wallpaper what I thought of at the time as an appropriately manly faux woodgrain motif. Allied to a flatpack pine wardrobe, desk and bed, the overall effect was not unlike going to bed every night in a sauna, or perhaps the inside of a large tree.
Faced with the same choice today, I’d hope that I might pick something a little more tasteful, for there has been a veritable explosion in what we must inevitably refer to as “designer wallpapers” (check out Lachlan Blackley’s book). The latest to hop onto this little bandwagon is Habitat with its new range of Very Important Products, featuring wallpapers from the likes of Christian Lacroix, Julian Opie and even a graffiti version from Bernie Reid…
UVA and the Light Fantastic
As part of our series of profiles on imagemakers working with light, published in association with Aurea by Philips, Paula Carson interviews UVA. Shown above: A glimpse of UVA’s live show, which they have been performing since 2005.
Matt Clark, Chris Bird and Ash Nehru formed United Visual Artists in 2002. Using bespoke software, LED, projection technologies and traditional lighting they create real-time, immersive, responsive experiences and environments for clients and collaborators in the music and fashion industries, as well as installation art, interiors and music videos.
Friday Round-Up
It’s Friday afternoon, you’re killing a bit of time by WILF-ing around the net, here’s a few nice projects landing in our in-box this week…
That Groaning Sound Is My Credit Card…
Charles Eames rocker 1950s, American. Estimate: £500-700
You know what it’s like, you move into a new house and none of your old furniture goes anymore… what to do? Well, if you are Michael and Gabrielle Boyd and you number many of the key works of twentieth century design in your collection, you put on the mother of all yard sales at Christie’s
Why are brands apologising so much right now?
Brands are saying sorry at a more rapid rate than ever. CR’s advertising columnist Ben Kay delves into why sorry is no longer the hardest word and whether this is an effective strategy for winning audiences
How Guinness embraced social
By loosening its approach to advertising, and engaging with its audience directly, the drinks brand has transformed with the times and won a whole new set of fans
Tracing Banksy’s art history remixes
Kelly Grovier’s new book charts the artist’s persistent dialogue with classic and contemporary art
How Lego creates meaningful brand experiences
We speak to Lego’s VP of global brand development Alero Akuya about the brand’s rare ability to straddle the physical and virtual worlds with ease – whether through its immersive new art exhibition in Paris or collaborations with Epic Games and Nike
Matt Willey brings a human touch to Kaos titles
The Pentagram partner has created the titles for the acclaimed new Netflix show, which reimagines the Greek myths in a contemporary setting
A visual history of movie posters
A new book from Reel Art Press collates the first comprehensive history of film posters. We explore why they remain an underappreciated area of cultural design
The Leaders Issue is out now!
The Autumn 2024 issue of Creative Review looks at the brands and individuals who are pushing creativity forward on their way to the top
The Monthly Interview: Rob Lowe, aka Supermundane
Mark Sinclair talks to the artist and designer about his new book, Lost Ordinary Magic, and the importance of recognising the power of simplicity and the everyday wonders that surround us
Unravelling adland’s obsession with 90s nostalgia
We explore how the 90s, an era the UK looks favourably upon for its thriving culture, are continually inspiring a stagnated creative industry
Building the visual world of Fontaines DC
The band’s surreal new album visuals explore a darker, more grotesque side of romance. We speak to the creative team behind the campaign about challenging the visual tropes of rock music
Jessica Walsh ventures into the world of type
As the &Walsh founder launches her agency’s new offshoot Type of Feeling, she discusses why typography’s ability to evoke emotions makes it one of the most powerful tools at a brand’s disposal
Can neuroscience make you a better creative?
Kinda Studios is tapping into the emerging field of neuroaesthetics to help creatives and brands make more impactful work that benefits people’s wellbeing